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able to meet the demands of people like Galloway and his supporters if he commits himself to a policy that is highly irresponsible. He will know it and voters will sense it. It will therefore do him more electoral harm than good.

Calling for a Palestinian state and defending Palestinian rights is not the same demand as Freeing Palestine “from the River (Jordan) to the (Mediterranean) Sea”. Starmer should be resolutely for the first and equally resolutely against the second. And he should show that he knows the difference. Being thwarted by George Galloway would be a setback, a frustration, a disappointment. Becoming George Galloway would be a disaster.

Labour may have to bite the bullet on this one. Better to lose this by-election without compromising whatever integrity they have left, than compromise with Galloway – sink to his level – and lose far more country-wide. Batley and Spen is not the UK.

assaulted by men who took offence at being sexually rejected. We were sacked from our jobs, bullied and harassed on the street and in bars, and told we were freaks and perverts.

Today, the job of making our lives a misery has been taken over by some trans-activists, aided and abetted by their bearded ‘allies’. They turn up to ‘support their trans siblings’ by pouring scorn on lesbians at Pride events unless they become hand maidens that put natal males before women.

This year’s interminable Pride events, spread throughout June, included disgraceful attacks on lesbians. At the big marches in Paris and Barcelona, some men appear to have been spotted wearing T Shirts decorated with the slogan ‘Kill the TERFS’. Video footage shows violent attacks by what appears to be trans-activists towards lesbians. […]

I interviewed several young lesbians in a number of countries for my forthcoming book on feminism and each told me a very similar story: they have been under pressure by men dominating the LGBTQQI societies and feminist groups at universities to adopt the label of ‘queer’ or ‘non-binary’– anything but lesbian. As one told me, ‘“Lesbian” is now equated with “transphobia” thanks to the so-called trans-allies, so women are put off using that label and have gone back into the closet.’

The flag supposedly representing Pride currently includes more stripes than a zeal of zebras, and lesbians only appear welcome if we drop the word so as not to offend.

This new wave of bigots – misogynists thinly disguised as progressives – are every bit as toxic as the old sexists that would beat us up on the street, or tell us that all we needed was a ‘good seeing to’. And what is particularly shameful is that many of the liberals that would have condemned such bullies in the past now seem to be supporting the very people that wish to drive us back into the closet.

It's not just lesbians, of course, though their treatment in the LGBT "community" has by now become a total disgrace. Male violence towards all women – but in particular towards gender-critical women – is now being successfully rebranded.

would review its “policies regarding freedom of expression for all underrepresented members to make sure no one is silenced or unsafe.”

The message included an apology from Powers herself, who said she had erred in removing “anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli posts.”

“I neglected to address the rise in Islamophobia, and deeply regret that omission,” she added. “As someone who is vehemently against Islamophobia and hate speech of any kind, I understand that intention is not impact and I am so sorry.”

“While this doesn’t fix the pain and disappointment that you feel by my mishandling of this moment, I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies and resignation from the SCBWI,” Powers said. “I wish all of you success in your work because the world’s children need your stories. All of them.”

It's an interesting comment on Palestinian sensitivities – that they'll be offended by any condemnation of antisemitism.

Yair Rosenberg on Twitter:

This looks VERY bad. On June 10, after anti-Jewish crimes spiked, the Black Jewish diversity officer for the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators @scbwi posted a condemnation of antisemitism. Today, she was fired, apparently for not mentioning Islamophobia? Yikes. pic.twitter.com/qwYAFKKlWp

— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) June 28, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Update: more here. Apparently a writer with a history of antisemitic statements on Twitter forced the issue, and the SCBWI caved in:

A writer named Razan Abdin-Adnani began replying to the statement on Twitter with anti-Israel propaganda, justifying violence against Jews worldwide by hurling baseless accusations against the Jewish state. She also demanded that the organization issue a statement about Islamophobia in her tweets replying to SCBWI’s statement on antisemitism, essentially "all lives mattering" the issue.

She harassed the account so often that the statement condemning antisemitism had to be deleted and reposted 4 times before the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer April Powers blocked Abdin-Adnani.

Abdin-Adnani went on to harass and dox Powers on her social media platforms.

On June 22, Abdin-Adnani wrote a 31 post Twitter thread/manifesto retconning the events that had transpired and included her thoughts about being dismayed when SCBWI released a powerful statement in support of the Jewish community. Abdin-Adnani claimed "I left an affirmative and polite comment on SCBWI’s Twitter," but at no point does she admit that this comment was followed by dozens more, including antisemitic statements, on the original SCBWI statements condemning anti-Semitism.

Such as, for instance: “Zionists need to go back to Europe and Brooklyn. I hear Germany and Poland are quite nice these days.”

In response, SCBWI posted their statement apologising to Abdin-Adnani by name, removed the block on her, and asked April Powers, who is black and Jewish, to resign. 

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North Korean authorities have ordered an end to the largely urban practice of hiring nannies to look after children. The order comes amid North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent emphasis on the issue of child rearing.

Kim has stressed the “party-focused system of management and responsibility” since the Eighth Party Congress in January. The order to eliminate personal nannies can be understood within this context as a signal that the authorities plan to expand people’s use of state-run childcare centers.

Too individualistic, you see, nannies. The children might go off-message and pick up bad habits. They're better off absorbing he basics of Kim-worship in state-run childcare centres.

Stressing the need for party officials to take charge, North Korea’s leadership appears to be pressuring party organizations to improve conditions at childcare centers “self-reliantly.” 

North Korea’s leadership is blaming women with children as well, slamming the hiring of nannies as “individualism in the selfish pursuit of one’s own comfort.” This is apparently a call for restoring North Korea’s own brand of collectivism.

Moreover, the leadership is spreading propaganda calling on women to follow the example of the Kim Il Sung era’s “Chollima spirit.” The propaganda claims that parents during that era “did not soothe children with blind love, but trusted the state and the collective by leaving them at childcare centers and kindergartens.” As a result, the propaganda says, those children “became the creators of miracles and exploits in factories and agricultural villages.”

North Korea’s leadership has further claimed that hiring nannies is “non-socialist and anti-socialist.” They view the hiring of nannies and home tutors as “poison left over from the old ideology of rotten capitalism.”

Accordingly, the leadership has hinted that families that hire nannies will face “legal punishment” akin to those meted out to people who watch South Korean TV programs or listen to foreign radio broadcasts. Daily NK understands from sources in the country that the authorities are saying that the society must wage a “sharp struggle to eradicate [keeping] nannies” and that offenders will face punishment “without question.”

As the offence of watching South Korean TV carries the penalty of five to 15 years of correctional labor, that's more than a slap on the wrist.

Jack Delano – April 1941. "Mr. J. H. Parham, barber and notary public, in his shop in Centralhatchee, Heard County, Georgia."

[Photo: Shorpy/Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration]

Kim Jong-un is looking thinner – the poor man:

North Korea’s state television has aired a rare comment about Kim Jong-un’s “emaciated” condition after footage of the slimmed down autocrat earlier this month prompted international speculation about his health.

In a report by KCTV, an unnamed resident of the capital, Pyongyang, claimed everyone was upset by his weight loss. "Seeing our respected general secretary looking emaciated breaks our people's hearts the most,” he said. "Everyone is talking about how their tears welled up immediately." 

Commentary about the Kim dynasty’s personal lives is normally forbidden, leading analysts to suggest that the message was calculated to frame the reclusive leader’s changing physique as a sign of his devotion to the nation at a time of spiralling food shortages and economic crisis.

Emaciated? Hardly.

February to June. Just a tad less obese.

I imagine a few other Pyongyang residents might have had a different response, but they'll have kept their thoughts to themselves.

In the meantime:

South Korea is to build its own version of Israel’s “Iron Dome” rocket shield to protect its capital against artillery and rocket attacks from North Korea.

The government in Seoul gave formal approval today to plans to spend 2.89 trillion won (£1.8 billion) on the project that will begin next year and is expected to take 13 years to finish.

“The project is designed to secure an interceptor system with our own technologies to boost our capabilities of countering enemies’ long-range artillery threats so as to protect core facilities and military and security infrastructure,” the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration said.

“Through this project, it is expected that the ability to respond to the threat of enemy long-range artillery will be strengthened, as well as securing domestic technology and creating domestic jobs.”

Half of South Korea’s 52 million people live in greater Seoul, which is only 40 miles from the border with North Korea. In reinforced bunkers along the strip separating the two countries Pyongyang has the world’s largest collection of artillery.

In the circumstances this seems like a very good idea.

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Abandoned fountain, Gymri, Armenia

Kosmaj Monument, Serbia.

Kozara, Bosnia & Herzegovina

9th fort and monument, Kaunas, Lithuania

Monument to the Battle of Bash Aparan, Armenia

The Heart of Jesus, Romania

Ostra Monument, Serbia
[Photos © 杨潇 Yang Xiao]

take an affirmative approach without question,” she said. “I think it is tragic if he has to live a life medically dependent. He has never even had time to just fall in love.”

No matter. It's all in the name of gender ideology.

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In a statement sent to Voice of America last Friday, the international watchdog said Kim "should be facing trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity."

"The UN Commission of Inquiry set out in comprehensive detail what those crimes against humanity are, and demanded [North Korea's] leaders be referred to the ICC, yet somehow the South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, thinks that Kim Jong-un is some sort of worthy leader."

The magazine reported that Moon found Kim "very honest… very enthusiastic [and] one with strong determination who has 'a good idea of what is going on around the world.'"

But HRW said "Fortunately, the South Korean people have seen through Moon's delusions about the North Korean regime. [Kim] leads a government that… systematically abuses human rights on a parallel seldom seen anywhere else in the world."

Moon has been on an increasingly Quixotic quest to engage the North Korean regime with offers of economic cooperation.

But Kim "is ruthless and prepared to commit any sort of human rights atrocity if he thinks it will help him maintain power," HRW said. It added, "The fear of the North Korean people is the only thing that enables [Kim] to continue to rule the country after such economic mismanagement and misery."

Dearborn, Michigan. "1963 Ford Fairlane two-door sedan." Colour transparency from the Ford Motor Co. photographic archive:

[Photo: Shorpy/Ford Motor Co. photographic archive]